In the central district police office.
The police station was converted into a sizable sheriff station with fewer desks and long lines of people reporting crimes because contemporary phones were forbidden and not in use during this selected time, owing to the faraway festival's influence, goal, and regulations. Piles of documentation must be filed and organized so that after the festival is done, computers can scan the material quickly and cleanly.
The sounds of tapping and typing could be heard in an office far from the main lobby as Chief Nathan Baker typed and paused on the blank sheet of paper he put on the typewriter before dumping the written one into a full trash bin filled with scrabbles of writing.
He groans and begins writing, ending with the topic: My legacy. Chief Baker is retiring this weekend and would like to send a thank-you note to his central department and officers before he leaves for good.
Chief Baker was a blue-uniformed guy with a desire to achieve more on the ever-changing scales of order and justice. He sported a brown handlebar moustache, a V-shaped chin, and white bits of hair among his combed brown hair. He donned a blue uniform adorned with several accomplishment badges and stars, demonstrating his dedication and devotion to fighting for the city he loved.
His office featured a cabinet filled with medals and golden city key prizes from former mayors, and after 37 years of serving our city, he wanted to retire and let the youth take over. He gazed at the windows behind him, which overlooked a desolate bridge to a distant region that had been walled off and forgotten, and took a deep breath before reflecting on his remarks.
A man with such a legacy, having difficulty writing a speech, may appear unusual to some, as his accomplishments are numerous and difficult to write about without boasting about them, which he did not want to do. Before he can compose another draft, a knock on the door halts his progress, as he sighs and adds:
"Come in."
A man who appears to be in his prime but close to Chief Baker's age entered the room with a smile and a newspaper folded under his arm, saying with passion and mockery:
"Good afternoon, soon-to-retire Chief Baker, and how are you in this day and time?"
"I'm old and tired of you coming here to disrupt me. Too bad my gun is far away and full of blanks; perhaps a strike to the head can reboot you, similar to what a computer does when it forgets its job and role."
The officer playfully raised his hands as he sat and placed the newspaper on the desk:
"Okay… Okay, Mr. Jumbled Spice, who seasoned your steak improperly this afternoon after lunch, I presume you can't think of anything to say for your speech?" He pointed to the typewriter and a garbage can full of papers.
Baker chuckles gently and says, "Is my mood and demeanor so easy to read, huh?"
"Yes, it is. You haven't left the office in approximately two hours, and as your brother-in-law and best friend, I know you're not much of a talker, especially during heartfelt speeches and wedding vows."
"Still going to come to me with those things I wrote at my wedding, huh?"
"Of course, like seriously, who bases all their vows on how much the love of your life cooks good food, hell didn't even mention how you guys met and fell for each other, and gosh, you had me and Brit laughing like crazy." He chuckled and continued:
"What can you say? You adore my sister for her food, kindness, and patience with your obvious antics. Anyway, I didn't come here to brag or complain about how much I might be better at writing and saying things than you, so we got a lead and a position at the hacker."
Chief Baker interjoined his fingers and asked earnestly:
"The bird squeaked the correct tone, huh?"
"And it was a beautiful melody we can dance to, so check this out," he said, opening the newspaper to reveal photographs of a large individual.
He started explaining:
"It appears that our friend Jericho is sending a brother to perform some work on our magnificent city, and I have a strong feeling that it is about the agenda to liberate the gifted from the corrupted, which includes us. So the brother will arrive tomorrow in the south area and proceed to the motel in the Lightning Bell district, which is not under our jurisdiction to explore or approach."
"Then why are you bringing it up?" Baker inquired.
"I am bringing it up due to the brother having a family living in our district, and get this, the family is in the academy, and he will be picking her up from the school, and there is only one young lady with a brother who is a criminal."
The officer displays a photograph of two people: a brunette young lady in revealing leather clothes posing with a massive, frightening male with prominent tattoos on his bald head and torso, particularly on his arms and hands, wearing a blonde suit jacket.
Baker scoffed and added:
"So, Miara Mahoney is bait, which means Wilfred Mahoney will come to us without issue; the difficulty is those two. So, what did Ruen tell you about the two women?
"April of Truth and Shirley Max have arrived and separated into regions that render them untouchable and unreachable to us. April is in the south, while Max is in the Ascender Hotel, shielded by the mayor's diplomatic bodyguards," he said the last statement by adding air quotes.
"When has this city rotted to the point that criminals are booty calls to people of high power?"
The officer scoffs, saying, "You mean the mayor. Yeah, that ball of slime and grease is always putting his finger in shark-infested waters for that show and tell nonsense he's doing. Right now, sir, we're focused on the hacker flying in the morning."
"So what do you suggest, Fred?"
"Again, it's Fredericks, so we keep an eye on the sister and fly spaces that are lacking security, mostly in the south, and who knows, maybe April might show to welcome her brother in arms, and we can hit two birds with one stone."
Chief Baker was deep in concentration as he rubbed his chin. If the Jericho followers are separated in one city, they may have problems. This city could wind up like Oricana and Dornish, destroyed and rebuilt, which Baker does not want.
Almost everyone is a member of the Jericho family cult or society, whatever they call it; the mayor is their most powerful puppet, and Baker knew this, so he had to work quietly and avoid feeding the rats additional information to leak.
"Damn this is tough, but we cannot miss a chance to put the main power of the Infectant community of terrorists in jail because of some corrupt guys."
"Not just any corrupt people, Chief, but the mayor, which is why I came with the newspaper. "Look at page 8."
Chief Baker took the newspaper and turned to page 8 to see advertisements and a headline for an event where a person named Hailey was due to sing at the David's Centre in the Lightning Bell District. The chief notices a piece of a headline about a father escaping a Jericho cult's illegal trafficking ring in the mountains and reaching his daughter and wife.
Baker read with stern focus, his eyes darting to a name he didn't want to learn about.
"Police asked the individual and his family about their feelings and revealed that the most wanted Juvenile is responsible for returning the man home. Ashley, the family's only child, said that the infamous murderer JAMES JERRY MADDISON had saved her father. According to sources, police are still on high alert due to the presence of a dangerous man in the vicinity.
Chief Baker stopped reading, glanced at Fred, and asked:
"Why show me this?"
Fred lay back on the chair and stated:
"Why wouldn't I show you what that kid has been up to last time we saw him? he was still so young and innocent."
"Now he is a cold-blooded murderer, and the point is?"
"My point is a question that may seem rhetorical at best." He leaned forward, clasping his hands together, and continued:
"It is not a coincidence that the newspaper put this story on the same page as advertising your daughter's performance tonight?"
Chief Baker took a breath and closed the paper, placing it on the table and asking Fred:
"What is on your mind?"
"I think the mayor might have a hand in this."
"That much is obvious. What are you thinking?"
"Hang on, I'm getting there, so basically, I believe he is attempting to downplay your accomplishments and retirements by highlighting your relationship with your so-called estranged daughter and your former employee's son. Your past was revealed on the paper, and this news happened yesterday, nearby from that closed-off estate in the forest; maybe he's going to use Jerry to get to you."
Baker stood quietly and leaned back in his chair, holding his head for a moment while taking calm breaths and asking:
"A criminal is a criminal regardless of the past; the present is now, and he must be apprehended, and it will have no bearing on my decision if I go to him and place those cuffs on him. Regardless of everything his father has done for my family in the past, for the mayor to put that on paper means Jerry could be coming to Carllo City."
Fred was deep in concentration as he tipped his fingers in his other palm and asked:
"I am very sure he is coming back here, so do you think Brie will be okay with you putting him in prison after what they used to have?"
The chief baker responded with seriousness:
"The law is the principle that distinguishes humans from animals, Freddy. "We can't let emotions control us when evidence is available and we must..."
Before he could finish, someone knocked on the chief Baker's door, so Frederick got up and opened it. A guy in uniform quickly saluted Frederick and lowered himself, then saluted Chief Baker, saying:
"Sir, an emergency broadcast has been authorized by the central unit and the mayor; they say all men on deck are needed."
Chief Baker groaned, tiredly:
"What's going on now?" Did the Tarzians master sailing and flying, and are they on their way to our country? If not, tell the mayor to go f*ck his criminal harlot and disturb the neighbouring district he directly funded.
The man remained there, perplexed as he peered at the door, and Fred shook his head and said:
"Excuse my brother-in-law of his foul language and tell us what the emergency is?"
The man nodded and said:
"It is better if I show you, sirs, it's something you must believe with your eyes"
Frederick nodded and motioned for the Chief to get up and follow the officer carrying the message.
Common room
The common room included a long table where high-ranking officers would sit and be briefed on the general scope of the weekly reports and updates to be said and distributed. There were already three officers in full black uniforms sitting with stars indicating their ranks on their shoulders.
Frederick and Chief Baker entered the common room with the messenger. He opened for them, bowed, and closed the door when he left. Three high ranks were about to get up when Chief Baker gestured for them to be seated as he took a seat as well alongside Frederick, which made some raise eyebrows.
Chief Baker glanced at the three people in the room and said:
"What is the emergency, and better be the Tarzians if not, I am out that door."
A woman wearing a black official cap stood up, her long golden hair cascading down her neck. She bit her lip as she said: "Sir, there has been an alert of a known criminal escaping custody, and all stations must be on high alert; it would appear that…"
"Whose custody did the criminal escape? "Baker interrupted.
"Harold's squad and…"
Frederick then interrupted to ask:
"Harold's squad is a crew that tracks down crooks all over the country, and they rarely escape. It must mean that the criminal is a higher-tier infectant, such as a seasoned awakened or a specific cultivator mentioned in today's publication. We are in charge of the latter, I assume?"
"Correct, Sergeant." As she stated this, she speedily passed out folders to each individual except Frederick, as he was someone who was not invited to the meeting, which made him shrug his shoulders and listen to the woman's debrief.
"Harold has received a tip from a kidnapped Jericho cult victim with the location of one of their hideouts, bringing the total number of hideouts uncovered this month to eight, with just two discovered in a single day. Since the hideout was out of our authority unless a key member of the organization was found there, until a rescued child gave us a significant name that allowed us to bend the rules a little."
Everyone in the room listened and turned through the file's pages until they came to a five-year-old article featuring a young man with neck-length brown hair, wearing a dark kimono, and smiling. When Frederick and Baker see that face, they express evident resentment and covert concern:
"The rescued child indicated that this man, the cultivator Jerry James Maddison, had saved them and requested the lad to summon our forces to catch him because he desires to confess and return home, which is here in Obstacle, Carllo city. However, we were unable to discover any evidence to support his claim of being born here."
"You employed the code breaker protocol assigned during the festival to restrict contemporary technology use until the event ended. You obtained access to temporary information from the South District historical records." Frederick interrupted with a happy smile and asked:
"Who gave you jurisdiction to do that?"
"I did," replied a man with a brownish bushy beard wearing a black long jacket with grey pants and boots with a flat cap with brown designs. He looked at Frederick, annoyed, and asked:
"And if I may ask, why are you here, Sergeant, and do you have jurisdiction to be here?"
Frederick shook his head in enjoyment and leaned back to respond:
"I am not being kicked out by the chief, therefore I need to be here to provide feedback, and while we're on the subject of not belonging, why are you here, Central District Lieutenant George of the Northwestern Police District of Communications? Isn't Ms. Karen McAdams supposed to be here representing us?
George looked astonished for a moment, pushed away the thought of supremacy, and coughed in response:
"Unfortunately, Ms Karen was ordered from high above to sit this one out and pushed for me to go in her stead."
"Wow, Karen must have received some good love for you to enter into her steady, and why? Due to orders or an intimate bribe?"
As Frederick spoke, he looked George up and down and shrugged, as if to respond to his later assertion of illicit bribery with a restrained laugh. Seeing this, George inquired:
"What is so funny?"
Frederick ignored him and said:
"So the boy escaped, and they sent Horndog here to let us know he was in the city." They couldn't send a telegraph because this guy was their closest officer who could be easily paid, and he was probably sleeping nearby."
"Yes to the escape and no to the latter statement," added the woman.
Baker finally spoke:
"Where was he last seen?"
"Edge of the lighting bell district," The woman answered.
"Meaning he is close to crossing into central, correct?" Baker asked.
"Yes, sir."
Baker stood up and said:
"Creating a police controlled block at the bridge to the southern district is the way to prevent a clash of orders in the central police hierarchy, and do what you mostly do, I have paperwork that needs to be done."
"Sir, if I may ask?" One of the guys stood, wearing the same uniform as Frederick, with a clean-shaven face, thin brows, and visible hairy arms from rolled-up sleeves.
"Sure"
"Why do we block the bridge to the south?"
Baker remained quiet and scoffed:
"That question is obvious, that even George knows the answer."
Frederick smiled at the remark and responded before George had a chance:
"Because it's where the last of his family remnants reside."